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The Star Spangled Banner

Chapter

BALTIMORE

JULY-AUGUST NEWSLETTER

OUR CHAPTER WILL RECEIVE FIVE-STAR LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE AWARD!

BATTLE OF BALTIMORE TOUR – A GREAT OUTING

FIFTY YEARS AGO, OUR CHAPTER BEGINNINGS (Part 2)

NOMINATIONS & VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT FOR 2015-16

MAJ. GEN JOSEPH LYNCH, USAF (Ret.) of MOAA at SEPTEMBER MEETING

FIVE STAR LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE AWARD

For an outstanding level of performance in calendar year 2013, the Star Spangled Banner Chapter

will receive MOAA’s Five Star Level of Excellence Award. A streamer with five stars for our chapter

flag will be presented at the National Conference of MOAA in Arlington, VA, at the awards dinner on

Monday evening, October 27, at the Pentagon Sheraton Hotel.

NOMINATIONS and VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for all offices, board, and committee chairs

Terms are up for all positions this year. We need to fill President, First VP, Second VP,

Secretary, Treasurer, a Board Representative from each service, and committee chairs for Legislative

Affairs, Personal Affairs, Veterans Transition Assistance, Membership, and ROTC Support. Raise your

own hand and/or suggest nominations to COL Tom Seybold, tkseybold@hotmail; or CAPT Mike

DeHaemer, mike.dehaemer@gmail.com. The Nominating Committee will contact all interested parties.

CHAPTER EVENT CALENDAR

SEPT. 23, 2014 Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Dinner meeting at Canton Dockside Restaurant, 3301 Boston Street, Baltimore, MD 21224. Maj. Gen. Joseph Lynch, guest speaker, to present Fiftieth Anniversary Certificate. Reservations…see flyer at end of newsletter.

NOV. 18, 2014 Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Star Spangled Banner Chapter’s 50th Anniversary Banquet. Guest of honor and speaker will be Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, USA (Ret.), former Chief of the National Guard Bureau, President of the Maryland Military History Museum.

Find us at StarSpan.org

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JUNE EVENT REPORT --- Tour of the Battle of Baltimore, September 12, 1814

On a delightful, sunny Saturday, June 7, members and guests of the Star Spangled Banner

Chapter and the Susquehanna Chapter spent the day in an engaging and educational tour that traced the

path of the invading British army. From the mouth of the Patapsco River at Fort Howard until the

remains of the earthworks and artillery line at Hampstead Hill, Patterson Park, our guide Glenn Williams

turned back the clock and made the events of 1814 come back to life. We learned the leaders’

personalities --- both the British officers and the Baltimore defenders. We saw the British strategy to

combine the use of their fleet and their army to destroy Baltimore, and we gained admiration for the

foresight of Baltimore’s city leaders and the willing patriotism of the citizen defenders. We had lunch at

Cactus Willy’s in Dundalk (not available to redcoats) as we went by bus visiting sites along the North

Point to Baltimore road. Many compliments were given to Glenn Williams, U.S. Army Historian from

Fort McNair, and COL Randy Everett, USA (Ret.), Chapter 2nd Vice President, who assisted in the

narrative and was the tour organizer.

Imagine 100 ships, tall sails reaching ten stories, thousands of redcoats landing.

Battle Acre in 1814 and 2014. Gaining appreciation for the defense of Baltimore by the Fifth Regiment of Maryland Militia.

Patterson Park. Left is School Children of Baltimore Memorial of 1914, commemorating the Star Spangled Banner. Center is Hampstead Hill line of defense, where British decided to withdraw.

Randy Everett and Glenn Williams enjoy presentation of bust of Francis Scott Key.

MORE PHOTOS of June battlefield tour are at the end of the electronic version of this newsletter, found also at StarSpan.org.

StarSpan.org

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LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS REPORT: CAPT Bud Wanner, USPHS (Ret.) Liaison, nanbud65@aol.com

Over this summer the Maryland Retired Veterans Task Force (MRVTF) of our state MOAA

Council has been meeting with the staff of the Maryland State Comptroller to review and update the 2003

study on the impact of income tax relief for military pensions. The General Assembly ordered the 2003

study and has used the same report, unchanged for the past decade, as the basis for consideration of tax

exemption to military pensions. Results have been less than a major success.

MRVTF and the Comptroller Staff expect that current facts will present a more convincing

position. We believe that eliminating the income tax on pensions will improve the desire of retired

military to remain in Maryland and that overall there will be significant economic advantage, as well as

the advantage of gaining more capable and willing community leaders.

The draft of the updated study will be available to the MOAA State Council this month. The

final report will be forwarded to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Ways and

Means Committee to bolster the veterans’ position in the 2015 session of the state legislature.

There is hope (that if he is elected Governor) Anthony Brown will support the retired pension

relief, since he has been recorded on several occasions in his campaign to promise positive action.

HAVE LUNCH WITH YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESSMAN This will be the Fourth Annual Maryland MOAA Council Congressional Luncheon.

We do this to honor our legislators for support of our uniformed services and to show

that there is significant voter interest among our state’s military. As in past years, we

hope to fill the meeting room with more than a hundred military, spouses, and friends.

Date: Thursday, 11 September 2014 Location: Room 2168 Rayburn Building

Time: 1130 to about 1430. Cost: $38.00 per person. Information: 410 439-9584

Reservation: Make check to Star Spangled Banner Chapter, send to

CAPT Charles Wanner, USPHS (Ret.)

8209 Parkway Road, Clear Water Beach, MD 21226

MOAA Helps Win for Student Vets

Over half of the states require veterans to establish residency, which can take 6 months to a year,

before the vet is eligible for in-state tuition at state colleges. New Federal legislation alleviates that

problem for veterans and their dependents.

The VA will now reimburse the cost of schooling at the in-state rate for all veterans using GI Bill

benefits at any public college or university, regardless of where the veteran resides. A provision included

in legislation to address the backlog in VA facilities requires states to accept the in-state reimbursement

rate for all student veterans as a condition of maintaining VA approval of coursework. Many states

require transitioning veterans to meet strict residency requirements before they can be considered in-state

residents.

The law-change mandates the in-state rate for all student veterans using either the Post-9/11 or

the Montgomery GI Bill at two- and four-year public colleges or universities.

Dependents using Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits under the “transferability” program are also eligible for the

in-state rate for three years after their sponsor’s discharge.

MOAA strongly supported the underlying in-state tuition legislation, H.R. 357 (Rep. Jeff Miller,

R-Fla.) and S. 257 (Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.), and is grateful for their leadership and support for our

nation’s veterans and their families.

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A STORY I GOTTA TELL !!

In the spring of 1987, as Commanding Officer of the Navy ROTC at Rensselaer, I was privileged

to hand commissions to approximately 30 new Naval Ensigns and Marine Corps 2nd Lieutenants.

Twenty-seven years and a few months later, Judy and I had the wonderful experience of attending the

retirement ceremony and departure from command of one of those officers---CAPT George Norman,

USN. George is the terrific looking, and beaming career submarine officer in the photo. He had

command of the USS Maine (SSBN 741) several years ago. After a tour with the Joint Staff, he was

assigned to command the USS OHIO, recently converted from a Trident ballistic missile submarine to a

multiple mission submarine---surveillance, Seal Team/diver operations, cruise missiles, torpedoes etc.

George made her ready and took OHIO to sea in support of the Pacific Fleet.

The ceremonies took place at the Trident Training Facility, Bangor, Washington, on a ceremonial

platform that is the sail and deck of the decommissioned ballistic missile submarine USS Woodrow

Wilson (SSBN 624). Picture, if you will, 50 state flags flying, music from the Northwest Navy Band,

side boys and piping of the principals across the quarter deck. My name was mentioned by the admiral

representing the sub force! An experience to cherish…and a joy to be remembered! Mike

Fireworks: Inner Harbor & Fort McHenry

Blue Angels Show: rehearsal on Friday,

shows on Saturday and Sunday

Events all over the Baltimore Area

See schedules at StarSpangled200.com

FIFTY YEARS AGO ***Early history of the Star Spangled Banner Chapter ***Part 2

By Maj Dick Martiny, USA, author of Military Beginnings: Early Development of American and

Maryland Forces, which may be found on amazon.com.

The officer slate for 1966, proposed in November 1965, included some new and/or renamed positions and

some new officers, both old and new faces. BG Catron was replaced as President by the former 1st VP,

Col Blakely. It is possible that BG Catron was in ill health because Col Blakely had represented him and

USS OHIO (SSGN 726) underway in Puget Sound

September 10-16, 2014

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run most of 1965’s meetings of the Board and General Membership. The Vice Presidents went from 2 to

3, with LTC Slaughter, former 2nd VP, as senior VP; Col Stegner, former Membership Chair, as VP for

Membership; and COL Foote, member of the original Board, as VP for Programs and Publicity. Col

Brundick, CDR Baughman and MAJ Katowski continued as Treasurer, Secretary and Assistant Secretary,

respectively. The Board also changed. Col McGrayne and LTC Garrett remained. COL Foote and WO

Trattler were replaced by MAJ W. W. Thomas, USAF (ret) and LTC Bernard Kuder, USAR (ret). In

1967 LTC Slaughter moved from Senior VP to President, replacing Col Blakely. Col Foote became

Senior VP and he was replaced as VP for Programs and Publicity by Col Frank Milani, USA (ret). LTC

Kuder and MAJ Thomas remained on the Board. COL McGrayne and LTC Garrett were replaced by BG

Catron, surfacing again, and CDR A. E. De Pra, USCG (ret).

In February 1970 changes were proposed to the Constitution and Bylaws. The most significant was the

elimination of a $1 per member annual contribution to the MROA to assist the state in organizing and

financing new chapters statewide. In 1969 TROA had initiated a program of regional representatives in

each state to recruit and organize new chapters. This eliminated the need for the Chapter’s contributions.

It became discretionary on the part of the Board. Since it had represented 25% of the Chapter’s

anticipated annual dues income, it allowed the dues to remain at $4.00 per year, the same amount since

the Chapter’s founding. The officer titles and structure were also changed. The officers now consisted

of: President, 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents (reverting to the original number and titles), Secretary, Assistant

Secretary, Treasurer, Judge Advocate (subsequently Legal Officer), Custodian of Permanent records

(subsequently also Historian), and Chaplain. Standing Committees were designated: Membership,

Legislative, Survivor Benefits, Programs and Publicity, Reservations, Sick and Welfare, Auditing, and

Nominating (to be appointed NLT 1 October each year.).

Meetings were held regularly and frequently in the early years of the Chapter. Initially, Board and/or

General Meetings were held almost monthly. In February 1974 the Bylaws were amended to eliminate

the January meeting due to inclement weather. In the future Chapter meetings would be held on the 4th

Tuesday of March, May, September, and November.

The initial membership, on October 21, 1964, was 36, those of the 44 present who had filled out and

signed membership applications. They were: CDR Arden E. Baughman, USN; COL Eugene Blakely, Jr.,

AUS; COL Leroy Brundick, AUS; BG Thomas B. Catron, USA; COL Daniel M. Chesterton, II, USA;

Commodore Milton R. Daniels, USCG; LTC William J. Darcough., AUS; LTC James H. Davis, AUS;

CDR A. E. Del Pra, USCG; LTC Albert F. Drake, ASUS; COL Raymond A. Egner, AUS; COL Donald

C. Foote, USA; COL Alfred M. Fort, USA, MAJ Donald M. Hoischer, Sr., USAF; CPT Howard R. Hair,

AUS; LTC Robert D. Hodge, AUS; COL George M. Hunt, AUS; COL Charles J. Jeffus, AUS; MAJ Eva

Katowski, ANC; COL Donald McGrayne, USA; 1LT William J. Palm, AUS; CPT David R. Phoebus,

USNR; CPT William E. Pratt, USCG; LTC Floyd A. Rice, USAF; COL Ford Richardson, USA; LTC

Charles L. Ringgold, AUS; LTC Fred J. Ritter, USAR; CPT Jacob V. Safer, MC AUS; COL Lloyd E.

Stegner, AUS; LCDR Daniel J. Strauss, USN; LCDR Noble L. Taber, USN; WO Abraham Trattler,

USCG; and CPT Richard MacC. Walsh, Jr., USA.

Membership quickly grew. At the January Board meeting membership had increased in 2 ½ months to

75. On 26 January Col Wellington B. Searless was recognized as the 100th member. At the end of

February it had risen to 139; by March to 148 and by April to 153.

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In April 1967 the Board extended associate membership in the Chapter to wives and widows of current

members. A women’s auxiliary had been considered and rejected. TROA was requested to recognize the

associates. However, regardless of the outcome of the request, the Chapter would proceed to “take the

ladies in.” As previously noted, full membership was open to female officers and warrants. The

associates’ dues were set at $1.00, while the full members’ dues remained at $4.00. Both rates remained

the same through 1987.

Membership increased to over 300 in the early 1970s with an annual ratio of 2 to 1 officer members to

associate wives/widows. As the seventies progressed membership began to decline slightly and the

Chapter was dealing with regular nonpayment of dues. A policy was established and enforced that

nonpayment would result in being dropped from the roles. This happened regularly on an annual basis.

However, later in the decade, membership rebounded, and by March 1976 the Chapter had over 400

officer and associate members.

Despite their apparent strong membership, the leadership was concerned about finding new members and

asked for assistance in doing so at a General Meeting in January 1974. They were concerned because

TROA was no longer providing lists of new retirees in the Chapter’s area. This omission was eventually

rectified. As a sign of General Meeting costs, after 23 years at one price, in 1987 annual dues were

increased to $6.00 for officer members and $3.00 for associates. They remained at this level at least

through October 1994.

Membership started to fall again in the 1980s with 140 officer members and 130 associates in 1989. The

decline accelerated and was attributed to an aging membership with increased mortality, and a lessening

of interest among younger military retirees who were still in the workforce. By 31 August 1994 strength

was down to 100 members and 92 associates. A decade later, in 2004, total membership stood at 89,

officer, associate, and honorary members. As indicative of the overall diminution of the Chapter, for

1994-1995 there were 12 officer positions and 9 Board members. For 2004 there were 5 officer positions

and 3 Board members.

Although obviously much lower than previously, 2004 represented a resurgence for the Chapter. After

the original 14 March 1966 charter had lapsed, the Chapter reincorporated in 2002. On 27 September

2002 the Chapter was reincorporated as the Baltimore area Military Officers Association (BMOA).

When TROA changed its name to MOAA, a new charter was granted on January 1, 2003. This was

followed on 6 January 2003 by the IRS issuance of a letter of exemption for the Chapter as a 501(c)(19)

nonprofit, exempt from federal income taxes.

VISIT YOUR LEGISLATORS THIS MONTH (while they are in recess and in home districts)

MOAA suggests a push on these three key issues and provides single sheet talking points at

http://www.moaa.org/augustrecess/#sthash.V0Igyhh3.dpuf. Also specific links below.

1. 1. Provide Servicemembers with the Pay They’ve Earned (PDF) 2. 2. Don’t Reverse Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) Improvements (PDF) 3. 3. Reject TRICARE Pharmacy Fee Increases (PDF)

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3301 Boston Street, Baltimore, MD, 21224

Guest Speaker

MOAA GENERAL COUNSEL and CORPORATE SECRETARY

Maj. Gen. Joseph Lynch, USAF (Ret)

On behalf of National MOAA, Maj. Gen. Lynch will present

the Fiftieth Anniversary Certificate to our chapter.

As guest speaker he will update us on issues

o For MOAA, the organization

o For protection of benefits

o For national defense

o For service members and families

Maj. Gen. Lynch is a 1969 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. He entered active duty in the Air Force in 1972 following graduation from law school at Emory University in Georgia. He served 10 years on active duty as a judge advocate followed by 22 years in the Air Force Reserve. His final Air Force assignment was mobilization assistant to the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force while serving in the Air Force Reserve. His civilian position was assistant general counsel (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) for the Department of the Navy, a career senior executive service position (Level 5).

Maj. Gen. Lynch joined the MOAA staff in 2010. As the corporate secretary, he supports the board of

directors and performs other duties associated with the operation of a large corporation. As the general

counsel, he advises the board of directors, president, and staff and directs MOAA's legal affairs.

RESERVATION REQUIRED. Clip or provide the information on the Reservation

Form on next page. Please mail to arrive by September 16, 2014. Chapter members, MOAA members, spouses, and guests are invited at $30 per person. Fixed Price Menu. See menu on registration form. Order when you are seated at table. Cash bar with complimentary non- alcoholic beverages. .

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CHAPTER DINNER MEETING, SEPTEMBER 23 (Continued) FOR INFORMATION and/or last minute reservations: COL Jim Shelley, 443 570-5775; or MAJ Russell Allen, 443 388-8745. MEETING will be in the Hamilton Room, Canton Dockside Restaurant, 3301

Boston Street, Baltimore, MD 21224, 410 276-8900. Ample parking on the

street or in the lot.

MEETING AGENDA

1800 Social hour, cocktails. Cash bar. Complimentary sodas, ice tea, coffee. 1900 Meeting call to order. Pledge of Allegiance. Brief reports and business meeting. 1930 Invocation. Dinner. 2015 Presentation of Fiftieth Anniversary Certificate. Maj. Gen. Lynch Speaks. Q&A. 2115 Final remarks. Adjourn

______________________________________________________________________________

RESERVATIONS FOR MEETING AT CANTON DOCKSIDE RESTAURANT, SEPT. 23

FIXED PRICE MENU @ $30 per person. CASH BAR, complimentary soft drinks Name_________________________ Guest Names ______________________________ Your email to receive confirmation ____________________________________________ Total number for reservation __________________ Check Amount ________________ Add $5.00 or $10.00 for the MOAA Scholarship Fund ______________________

Make check to “The Star

Spangled Banner Chapter” and

send with your name and

guest(s)’ names to:

COL James Shelley, USA

142 Glyndon Trace Drive

Reistertown, MD, 21136

MENU

Salad or Soup: House or Classic Caesar or Crab Soup

Entrée Selection:

New York Strip

Crab Cake

Shrimp and Crab Marinara

Chicken Parmesan

Dessert, Coffee, Tea

CASH BAR. Complimentary soda, ice tea, coffee.

.

The Star Spangled Banner Chapter

Newsletter and Archives online:

http://starspan.org

Newsletter Production

President, CAPT Mike DeHaemer USN (Ret) Editor and Producer, CDR Wally Dann (Ret) Distribution, LtCol: Charles R. Meyer USAF (Ret)

The STAR SPANGLED BANNER CHAPTER

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PHOTO GALLERY: JUNE 7, 2014

British came ashore here..

Fifth Regiment, Sept. 12, 1814 Battle Acre in June 2014

Along North Point Rd….”In the skirmish… Maj. Gen. Ross, commander of the British force, received his mortal wound.”

Church on the battlefield

babBattlefied==

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